Should the Jaguars Place the Franchise Tag on Cam Robinson?
The 2022 franchise tag window has officially opened.
The Jacksonville Jaguars were a surprise franchise tag candidate last offseason, placing the one-year tag on veteran left tackle and former second-round pick Cam Robinson. But could they use the tag for the second year in a row as they continue to have in-house talent set to hit free agency without any contracts in tow?
That is the question facing the Jaguars until the franchise tag window closes on March 8. Until then, the Jaguars will have to review their wide list of free agents -- which consists of mostly offensive players and a number of Week 1 starters -- and determine if the tag is the right choice moving forward.
The players who are among those free agents in terms of priority are clear: Robinson, who is set to be a free agent after his one-year tag, and wide receiver DJ Chark, whose rookie deal ran through the 2021 season.
The Jaguars have other free agents such as guards Andrew Norwell and A.J. Cann and defensive lineman Adam Gotsis, but Robinson and Chark are clearly the top dogs. Each would likely garner the most interest out of any Jaguars free agent set to hit the market, with Robinson having four years of starting experience at left tackle and Chark hitting the 1,000-yard mark on his way to a Pro Bowl in 2019.
As such, the only players who make sense for the Jaguars to consider using the tag on are Chark and Robinson. But should Jacksonville general manager Trent Baalke and head coach Doug Pederson make the bold move to place the tag on either? In the first of two articles, we take a dive to determine if they should. First up is Robinson.
When it comes to Robinson, it is important to remember the price the Jaguars would be facing. The Jaguars are in no shortage of cap space, but Robinson was franchise-tagged last year, so doing a second tag would result in a 120% increase in cost. After Robinson was one of the NFL's highest-paid tackles in 2021 with the $13,754,000 tag, Robinson would be set to earn $16.5 million if tagged again in 2022.
That figure is actually lower than what OverTheCap projects as the offensive line franchise tag cost in 2022 ($16,698,000), only six left tackles are currently set to earn more during the 2022 season. Unless Terron Armstead signed a deal north of $16.5 million per year this March, then Robinson would enter next year as the seventh-highest paid offensive tackle.
Has Robinson's play suggested he is worth making one of the league's highest-paid left tackles of the last two years? That is the question the Jaguars have to ask themselves, especially after drafting Walker Little with the No. 45 overall pick last April. Little played well in his three starts, too, making this a bit more complicated for Robinson and the Jaguars in contrast to a situation in which the team didn't have a competent backup.
Per TruMedia and PFF, Robinson allowed 15 sacks, 75 pressures, and 11 quarterback hits in 30 games from 2019-2020 -- an average of 7.5 sacks, 37.5 pressures, and 5.5 quarterback hits per season. But last year, Robinson allowed one sack, 29 pressures, and nine quarterback hits. While his quarterback hits increased, his allowed sacks and pressures ultimately decreased.
In short, Robinson is far from an elite tackle but he also isn't a bad one by any means. He is a perfectly respectable and serviceable left tackle, especially when the Jaguars have a quarterback who can make the line look better like Lawrence does.
But with the Jaguars having a ready-made cheap replacement already in place for Robinson, the Jaguars shouldn't force themselves to yet again negotiate with the franchise tag. Doing so last year resulted in few wins for the Jaguars and didn't help the offensive line improve, so the same front office doing it again would suggest a failure to learn from the past.
Robinson is a solid player, but there is no reason the Jaguars should tie their hands behind their back and tag him when they have both Little and the No. 1 overall pick readily able to replace him if needed. It wouldn't hurt to attempt to reach a different deal with Robinson, but a $16.5 million franchise tag seems a bit overboard.
